Thursday, July 03, 2008

MACON, Ga. - As one season comes to a close, another begins. Such is the case for many collegiate baseball players, who choose to hone their skills over the summer in collegiate summer leagues around the country. This year, more than 80 Atlantic Sun student-athletes take the field in 14 different leagues, where night-in and night-out they face some of the top talent in the country. Here is a league-by-league look at some of the A-Sun's notable "boys of summer."

Northwoods League
Nate Woods, Bel (Fr. - P - Thunder Bay Border Cats) - Carries a 2-0 record with the third-best ERA in the league (0.80). He was chosen as the NWL Player of the Night on July 22 after throwing a complete-game shutout. 

Derek Wiley, Bel (Jr. - IF - Thunder Bay Border Cats) - To go along with the seventh-best batting average in the NWL (.342), Wiley has driven in 24 runs.

Jimmy Stanley, Bel (Jr. - P - Thunder Bay Border Cats) - Owns a league-leading seven saves in addition to a 2-1 record and an ERA of 0.93.

Chris Sale, FGCU (So. - P - Lacrosse Loggers) - Leads the NWL with 50 strikeouts while carrying a record of 2-2 and a 3.22 ERA.

Josh Upchurch, FGCU (Sr. - OF - Alexandria Beetles) - Hitting .303 with a league-high 15 stolen bases and a team-high 13 runs scored.

John Atteo, UNF (So. - P - St. Cloud River Bats) - His five wins leads the NWL, as he is a perfect 5-0 in five starts with a 1.93 ERA.

Coastal Plain League
Daniel Wagner, Bel (So. - IF - Asheboro Copperheads) - Hitting .357 with 18 RBI and two home runs for the West Division leaders. His 41 hits are tops in the league and he sits in second with 57 total bases.

Mikel Alvarez, FGCU (So. - IF - Wilmington Sharks) - First in the CPL in batting average (.392) and second in RBI (27). The league named him the Rawlings Player of the Week in week four after he hit .500 with five RBI in a six-game stretch.

Florida Collegiate Summer League
Ty Pryor, UNF (Jr. - P - Winter Park Diamond Dawgs) - Holds a 2-2 record and a 2.70 ERA. He is second in the league in strikeouts (29), and earned Player of the Week honors after allowing two runs on five hits in a 6-4 win over Orlando on June 24.

Nick Adams, Mer (Fr. - IF - Winter Park Diamond Dawgs) - Has stolen eight bases in eight attempts, which is tied for the second most in the league. He is hitting at a .239 clip.

California Collegiate League
Kyle Tognazzini, Lip (Jr. - P - SLO Rattlers) - Has yet to allow an earned run, resulting in the leauge's lowest ERA. He is 2-0 in 11 appearances, and has fanned 22 batters in 15 innings on the hill.

Carson Andrew, JU (So. - P - SB Foresters) - Has pieced together a 2-0 tally in five appearances on the mound with 26 strikeouts. He claims the league's second lowest ERA (1.00).

Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League
Brandon McClurg, Lip (Jr. - P - Bethesda Big Train) - In three starts, he has compiled a 1-1 record witha 3.21 ERA.

J.T. Odom, Mer (Fr. - P - Alexandria Aces) - Has a 2.84 ERA in four appearances. He owns a 1-0 record and is holding batters to a .175 average.

Valley Baseball League
Tucker Pryor, UNF (So. - P - Front Royal Cardinals) - Leads the league in strikeouts (43) and has the lowest ERA on the Cardinals' staff (2.36).

Southern Collegiate Baseball League
Jerry Young, Lip (So. - P - Morgantown Aggies) - In only seven innings of work, he has managed to go 2-0 with a pair of saves. His ERA sits at 1.29 and he has fanned 12 batters.

New York Collegiate Baseball League
Matt Branham, Upst (So. - P - Brockport Riverbats) - Leads the Riverbats with a 3-1 record. In his eight appearances, he has two saves and a 4.72 ERA.

Cape Cod Baseball League
Casey Frawley, Stet (So. - IF - Hyannis Mets) - Hitting .250 with four RBI and three doubles.

Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League
Jace Whitmer, KSU (Jr. - C - Lima Locos) - Hitting at a .350 clip and slugging .475 for the Locos. He has driven in eight runs.